Lash Extensions Aftercare: Help Clients Keep Their Lashes Clean, Full & Flawless

Lash extensions can deliver beautiful, bold results — but the long-term outcome depends on both your application technique and the client’s aftercare. While application plays the biggest role in retention, poor home care of lashes can still undermine your work, affect hygiene, and leave clients dissatisfied.

This guide explains:

  • What actually happens during and after lash extensions application
  • How to guide clients through the first 24 hours
  • Why daily cleansing matters more than most people think
  • Which products to recommend — and what to avoid
Lash Extensions

What Happens During Lash Extensions Application?

Lash extensions are bonded to natural lashes using cyanoacrylate-based adhesive. Once applied, about 90% of the adhesive molecules cure within 2 minutes, reaching initial hardness. However, the remaining 10% can take up to 24 hours to fully polymerize — and during that time, the bonds are vulnerable.


If you use the original alcohol-free Superbonder at the end of the treatment — after waiting 2 minutes post-application — it rapidly finishes the curing process, allowing that last 10% to fully set in just 3 minutes.

Without Superbonder, clients should avoid touching or getting their lash extensions wet for a full 24 hours, since interference during this incomplete curing window can weaken the adhesive bonds and reduce retention.


👉 Learn why lash adhesive curing must not be interrupted: Curing article →


Understanding this curing window is critical for proper home care.

🧼 We recommend retailing your own lash foam made from Clean 11 Concentrate. Add your logo to make it look professional, build brand trust, and create a new income stream.


NB: Always check whether private label retail requires specific approvals or labeling in your country.


💬 If you have any questions, please write to us at info@ruthiebelle.com

📎 Also check out: General Home Care Guide →

Step 1: The First 24 Hours — What Clients MUST Know

✅ If You Use Superbonder

Clients can wash and touch lashes after just a few minutes. Superbonder accelerates the final stage of curing (the last 10%) so there’s no risk of disrupting the adhesive bond formation.


⚠️ If You Don’t Use Superbonder

Advise clients to:

  • Avoid getting lashes wet (no steam, no crying, no swimming)
  • Avoid touching or sleeping on lashes
  • Avoid oil-based skincare near the eyes

Even light contact or water exposure during this window can weaken polymerization and reduce retention.

Step 2: Daily Aftercare — Cleansing Lashes Is Non-Negotiable

Once the glue is fully cured, the most important thing clients can do is wash their lashes every single day — ideally at night.


Why it matters:

  • Extensions trap dust, oil, makeup residue, and bacteria far more than natural lashes
  • Poor hygiene causes retention loss, premature fan closure, and can lead to blepharitis
  • Clean lashes = better retention and better health of lashes
Lashes

✅ What to Use

  • A foaming shampoo for lashes (you can make your own from Clean 11 Concentrate) — gentle, pH balanced, and formulated specifically for extensions
  • A dense-bristled brush to get between the tightly packed extensions and lash layers

❌ What to Avoid

  • Baby shampoo: Irritating (contains numbing agents), reacts with adhesive, not pH balanced
  • Drugstore cleansers: Can contain oils, fragrances, or surfactants that break down adhesive
  • Micellar water or micellar oils: May seem gentle but often leave behind residue or oil film

Step 3: Reinforce With Tools

Clients are more likely to follow your advice when you give them the right tools. We recommend:

  • Including a lash cleanser and brush in your full set price
  • Giving away or selling a cute, branded lash wand for daily brushing
  • Following up before refill appointments to check whether they need a new cleanser

These small touches:

  • Boost retention and results
  • Increase retail sales without pressure
  • Position you as a caring expert, not just a service provider

Bonus Recommendations

✅ For Damaged or Sparse Natural Lashes

Recommend: Lash & Brow Filler This EGF-based formula helps activate dormant follicles and strengthen existing lashes without accelerating the lash cycle (= lashes don’t grow out faster). It’s perfect for clients recovering from:

  • Damage from extensions
  • Damage from picking on lashes
  • Aggressive removals of lashes
  • Sparse lash lines due to damage or genetics

⚠️ Growth Serums & Extensions

Prostaglandin-based serums may make lashes longer — but they also accelerate lash shedding and cause lashes to grow out faster. This means:

  • Sets look messier sooner
  • Infills are required more frequently

Use only when lash length is too short to hold extensions. Otherwise, stick to lash food products like Lash & Brow Filler.


If clients are using our Dark Energy adhesive, they can safely use oil-containing serums like Lash & Brow Filler without retention loss, because Dark Energy is infused with castor oil and 100% oil-proof. Still, we recommend applying serum slightly higher up on the eyelid rather than directly onto the lash line — Lash & Brow Filler is effective enough to work this way.

Example Client Scenarios

Client Type

Best Product

Why

Has sparse lashes or past damage

Lash & Brow Filler

Strengthens and stimulates natural growth

Lashes are too short to hold extensions

Peptide serum

Helps to grow lashes longer so they don’t become extended by more than 30-50% 

*Read more 

Final Thoughts

Retention starts in the salon — but it’s sustained at home. Teaching clients to properly wash and care for their extensions not only gives them better results but builds trust and loyalty.


Every product you recommend should match their lash condition, goals, and lifestyle. When you do that, you’re not just providing a service — you’re solving a problem.


💬 Talking about home care should be a key part of every new client consultation — especially since many first-timers don’t know how to properly care for extensions. Without guidance, they might use products that break down adhesive or skip washing entirely, which leads to lash loss, hygiene issues, and frustrated clients.


🧴 Want to simplify aftercare for your clients? Bundle lash foam and a brush into your full set, and check in at each refill. Better results for them, and extra revenue for you.

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